Know Your Recruit: Wiley knew Ole Miss was right for him

If someone asked Charles Wiley, the Rebels’ newest verbal pledge for the 2016 class, who was recruiting him to Ole Miss, his answer has always been the entire coaching staff.

Even though tight ends coach Maurice Harris was the main contact person, cornerbacks coach Jason Jones and defensive line coach Chris Kiffin were also heavily involved. And Wiley, a four-star defensive end from Stockbridge, Georgia, said that type of attention separated Ole Miss from all the other schools that offered him a scholarship, including Auburn and Clemson, the two that got the closest to getting his commitment.

“I had such a great relationship with the entire coaching staff,” said the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Wiley Wednesday evening not long after he volunteered his time to help set up volleyball courts in his community. “I could talk to any of them. It was almost like talking to the same person with each of them. I just had a great feeling with the coaching staff, just everything, all around with them. I felt like I could talk to them about anything. There was a real good, genuine feel. And it was definitely different.”

Wiley, who just visited Ole Miss and Oxford this past weekend, said he went to other campuses where a family-first approach was talked about, but he never really got it all the way like he did with Hugh Freeze and his staff.

“Ole Miss didn’t have to say it and I got it,” Wiley said, adding he thought the open practice he attended was great. “It was very explosive, very fast. I love the way that they play, all the positions I’m going to be playing. I can really see myself on their defense.”

For more on Wiley, see Sunday’s print edition of the Citizen, or check www.oxfordcitizen.com on Monday.